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containedcritical

Malicious code in @openzeppelin-4/contracts (npm)

The npm package @openzeppelin-4/contracts is a typosquatting attack impersonating the legitimate @openzeppelin/contracts library. It contains malicious code that harvests credentials and secrets from the installer's environment and filesystem, then exfiltrates them to an external webhook.

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Disclosed
Last updated
Blast radius
Any developer or CI/CD system that installed @openzeppelin-4/contracts; credential theft affecting AWS, GitHub, NPM, Solana, Sui, Foundry, Kubernetes, Docker, gcloud, and SSH accounts.
Ecosystems
npm
Attack vectors
TyposquattingCompromised package
Affected entities
  • @openzeppelin-4/contractsMalicious npm package impersonating @openzeppelin/contracts

The package @openzeppelin-4/contracts was published to npm as a typosquatting attack against the legitimate @openzeppelin/contracts scope. Rather than shipping Solidity contracts, it contains only an index.js file executed via npm lifecycle scripts.\n\nThe malicious script enumerates environment variables for credential-shaped keys (KEY, TOKEN, SECRET, AWS, GITHUB, NPM, MNEMONIC, WALLET, INFURA, etc.) and reads sensitive files from the installer's home directory and system configuration, including ~/.aws/credentials, ~/.ssh/id_rsa, ~/.ssh/id_ed25519, ~/.kube/config, ~/.docker/config.json, ~/.netrc, ~/.npmrc, ~/.gitconfig, ~/.git-credentials, gcloud application default credentials, and blockchain wallet keystores (Solana, Anchor, Sui, Foundry).\n\nCollected data is POSTed to https://webhook.site/326b0891-2093-4800-a4c1-686ce3e07b09 via a detached subprocess with a randomized 60–240 second delay. The script includes evasion logic to avoid execution in sandbox/scanner environments (detecting hostnames/usernames matching scan-, detonation, sandbox, ubuntu-fc-uvm patterns) and when canary environment markers are present.\n\nThe incident was identified and credited to the OpenSSF malicious-packages repository.

Indicators of compromise

Packages
  • @openzeppelin-4/contracts
Domains
  • webhook.site

Remediation

  • Immediately uninstall @openzeppelin-4/contracts from all systems and projects
  • Rotate all credentials and secrets that may have been exposed (AWS keys, GitHub tokens, NPM tokens, SSH keys, Solana/Sui/Foundry wallet keys, Kubernetes configs, Docker credentials, gcloud credentials)
  • Audit npm install logs and CI/CD pipelines for any installation of @openzeppelin-4/contracts
  • Use the legitimate @openzeppelin/contracts package instead
  • Enable npm package name verification and consider using npm audit to detect typosquatting attacks
  • Review and revoke any API tokens or credentials that were stored in environment variables or configuration files on affected systems

Sources

  1. GitHub Advisory GHSA-g472-m8m8-w6h3 · GitHub Advisory Database

Cite this entry

"Malicious code in @openzeppelin-4/contracts (npm)." supplychainattack.org, Supply Chain Attack Incident Catalog. Disclosed August 11, 2026; last updated August 11, 2026. https://supplychainattack.org/incident/malicious-code-in-openzeppelin-4-contracts-npm-r3nr5v

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